Membership ​overview

Membership application forms

To apply for RCSLT membership, or change your details, please download and complete the relevant form:

• Become a member (PDF)
• Become a student member (PDF)
• Become a newly-qualified member (PDF)
• Overseas trained (Non-MRA) (PDF)
• Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) application (PDF)
• Membership declarations (PDF)
• Payment form (PDF)

Please email all application forms to membership@rcslt.org for processing. Scanned application forms and clear photos of the application form will be accepted.

If you are unsure of which membership category to apply for, please contact us.

Changing or updating your details

If you are an existing member but need to make changes to your details, you can do so by logging onto the member home page .

Subscribe to Bulletin magazine

If you have an interest in speech therapy and would like to subscribe to our quarterly Bulletin magazine, please complete our  Bulletin subscriber form (PDF).

Professional indemnity insurance

All registered allied health professionals are required to hold appropriate professional indemnity (PI) insurance to practice, as a condition of their registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

It is essential that you have adequate insurance cover in place should you find yourself facing legal action. Failure to have PI insurance in place may result in being removed from the register and being unable to practice.

One of the benefits of being an RCSLT member is that your annual membership includes PI/medical malpractice cover. This is part of the insurance provision under the RCSLT’s group policies.

Membership categories

Which is the right category for you?

UK residents:

• Certified: I qualified as SLT in the UK and studied an RCSLT accredited degree. I am registered with the HCPC and successfully completed my NQP framework. You can also join the Certified category if you meet the MRA eligibility criteria.
• Non-Practising: I was previously a Certified member and I am currently on a career break or maternity leave.
• Newly Qualified Practising: I am a new SLT graduate and have studied an RCSLT accredited degree. I am registered with the HCPC and working towards completing my NQP framework.
• Newly Qualified Non-Practising: I am a new SLT graduate and have studied an RCSLT accredited degree. I am currently not practising and not registered with the HCPC. However, you can be registered with the HCPC but join the NQP-Non Practising category if you are not practising. 
• Returner: I have previously completed an RCSLT accredited degree and been either a Certified or NQP member before. I have been away from the profession and not currently registered with the HCPC. I am now completing my Returning to Practise programme to register with the HCPC. NQP members who did not complete their framework before they left the profession, will need to complete it once they are registered with the HCPC and start practising.
• Retired: Previously a Certified or Non-Practising member and I have now retired and no longer work as a speech and language therapist.
• Student: I am currently studying an RCSLT accredited degree in the UK.
• Assistant: I am working as a speech and language therapy assistant in the UK.
• Overseas Qualified Practising: I qualified as SLT abroad and do not meet the MRA eligibility criteria. I am registered with the HCPC and are working towards completing my OQP framework.
• Overseas Qualified Non-Practising: I qualified as SLT abroad and I am not currently practising as SLT in the UK.

Non-UK residents:

• International Affiliate: I qualified as SLT in the UK or aboard and I am currently residing and practising outside the UK. HCPC registration is not a requirement for this category.

You can also join the International Affiliate category if you qualified in the UK or abroad and reside outside of the UK and  do not practise but wish to be a member. 

Subscribers

If you have an interest in speech and language therapy, you can join the Individual or Corporate subscriber category to subscribe to the RCSLT’s Bulletin magazine.

Membership Fees

Membership renewal for 2023-2024

To prevent delays in your payment being processed and to ensure your membership is renewed, please email membership renewal payment forms to membership@rcslt.org. Do not post them.

This includes members who usually pay by credit/debit card.

You can also pay your 2023-2024 membership fee over the phone by calling 020 7378 3010/3011.
​
If you pay your membership renewal by direct debit, you do not have to email a copy of the membership renewal form. Your membership will renew automatically.

Contact membership@rcslt.org if you have posted your payment form or cheque and are unsure whether your payment has been processed.

For any other queries during this challenging time, please contact us.

The RCSLT membership year runs from 1 April to 31 March and our membership fees are calculated on a pro-rata basis, meaning that if you join after April, your fee will be calculated from the month you join to the end of the corresponding membership year.

Example: A prospective member applies for Certified membership in June 2023 and opts in to pay by direct debit. Their fees will be calculated as follows :

£23.33~ x 10 months = £233.30~

The above calculation covers fees from 1 June 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Please also note that you can only set up a direct debit if you hold a UK bank account. 

* Includes £14.00 discount for payment by direct debit

Membership cheque payment changes

The RCSLT is unable to accept any cheque payments due to current social distancing measures.

Contact our membership team by email or call 0207 378 3011 to arrange to pay by debit or credit card, or to set up a direct debit payment.

Coming to work in the UK

Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Registration with the HCPC is a legal obligation if you want to work as an SLT in the UK.

You must be registered with the HCPC before you apply for membership of the RCSLT.

SLTs from Ireland, USA, New Zealand, Australia or Canada

You can apply to become a member of the RCSLT if you are a member of a professional association within the Mutual Recognition of Credentials Agreement (MRA).

To become a certified member of the RCSLT (CertMRCSLT), you will need to:

• provide your HCPC registration details (number and date of registration)
• request a letter of good standing from your professional association if it is in the MRA, which will be need to be posted directly to the RCSLT
• meet the individual professional association requirements as described on the RCSLT member application form (MRA) (PDF)

SLTs who are not members of an MRA professional association

You may still be able to join the RCSLT, subject to additional checks.

Overseas qualified practitioners (OQP)

SLTs who have qualified outside the UK may be able to apply for RCSLT membership as overseas qualified practitioners (OQP).

Under current arrangements, OQPs are entered into the supervised category of RCSLT membership when they first join.

Before being given certified RCSLT membership, these entrants to the profession are expected to:

• complete up to one year in a clinical setting under supervision
• complete the OQP competency-based framework

This timeframe is a guide and may vary according to the individual.

To become an OQP member of the RCSLT, you need to:

• be registered with the HCPC and meet certain minimum threshold standards before you can apply for RCSLT membership
• provide a copy of your SLT degree/qualification certificate and a reference from your supervisor as described on the RCSLT member application form (non-MRA) (PDF)

OQP competency-based framework

This competency-based transitional framework for OQPs sets out a balanced set of clear expectations and standards. The framework can be used to support learning and development specific to practice in the UK context.

It will also support you with your continuing professional development (CPD) by informing you about the competency framework that underpins the RCSLT CPD requirements.

You can use the RCSLT CPD diary to record your CPD and your progress through the competency framework.

Download the OQP speech and language therapy competency framework (Word).

RCSLT standards

The RCSLT has set standards for the SLT workforce that may exceed the threshold standards set by the regulator (HCPC). The regulatory standards are largely generic and are applied for all allied health professionals.

In order to uphold standards for the SLT workforce, the RCSLT may recommend that additional training be included in the competence framework.

Understanding RCSLT and our relationship with trade unions

The RCSLT is the professional body for speech and language therapists in the UK but unlike some other allied health professional bodies – for example, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP) we do not have a separate trade union arm.

Instead, we work closely with Unite, the union for speech and language therapists and encourage members to join as soon as they begin their SLT career. Unite is the second largest union in the UK and as such has a powerful voice in representing its members. For example, any industrial action called by Unite would require both a positive vote and achieving a turnout threshold for the workforce in question.

The background to professional bodies also being unions is steeped in history and complexity. The separation of pay and conditions negotiations from the RCSLT as a professional body goes back to the 1950s, and SLTs have been part of a separate trade union ever since.

While each of the professional bodies have different arrangements for pay and conditions negotiations, in terms of overall membership costs, they vary with some more than the combined costs of RCSLT and Unite fees and some less.

Further enquiries

To discover more about why it makes sense to become a member of the RCSLT, please contact us or call 020 7378 3010/11.

If you have further queries regarding the MRA process, please contact us or call 020 7378 3012/3038.